Birds of a Feather
by NinjagoZaneFan14
Summary: After Zane receives a startling vision about his falcon being in danger, he goes to find him and discovers that his mysterious friend may not be quite so avian anymore.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1 - Zane's POV**

I opened my eyes and inhaled the refreshing frigid air into my artificial lungs. I sat up, realizing I was in The Birchwood Forest. Snow was falling as the sun was rising. Gentle snowflakes fell onto my blond hair. I blinked and arose from the snow.

 _How did I get here?_ I thought to myself and then called out.

"Hello?! Anyone?! Kai! Jay! What am I doing here?!"

At first the only response was the wind that blew against my auditory sensors harshly. But then out of the silence came a sound.

A falcon's shrill cry.

My attention was raised. That cry belonged to my mysterious friend. The robotic falcon created by my father. I could sense it.

But something was wrong.

It almost sounded like it was in pain.

Suddenly I heard a voice.

" _Zane! Find me!_ "

I looked around, seeing no one in sight.

But it occurred to me that this wasn't a person. It was the falcon!

"Where are you!" I asked loudly.

" _Find me!_ "

I suddenly opened my eyes to the ceiling with a gasp. I sat up in my bed and looked around. No snow or the sound of the bitter wind, only the sound of some of the others snoring in their bunks.

I was surprised but thankful that they hadn't woke up. I got out of bed and got dressed into my white ninja gi.

Just as I was leaving the room I heard a yawn and a tired voice.

"Zane?" Lloyd said in confusion, rubbing his eyes. "What time is it?"

I turned and answered. "4:00 AM."

Lloyd's eyes widened and he yawned again. "What? Ugh, why are you up so early?"

The others stirred with exhausted mumbles.

"It's the falcon. I heard it in a vision. It needs help! It's in The Birchwood Forest!" I said anxiously.

Jay sighed but got out of bed. "We'll come with you."

"But it's so early!" Kai complained.

"We would just be up in an hour anyway," Cole said as he got up.

Kai groaned in annoyance, then got up and got ready to leave as well.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2 - Zane's POV**

The sun was just rising over the horizon as me and my friends trekked through the snow of Birchwood Forest. It had been a hour since we began on search, the wind was picking up, blowing snow against our faces, making it hard to see.

"Zane! We've been searching for forever!" Kai whined irritably.

"We cannot stop until we find the falcon," I said. "Besides it has only been a hour."

"Well it feels like forever."

I did not let Kai's comments sway me off my task. The falcon needed me.

Jay rushed up to talk to me. "And what if the falcon isn't really in danger? Maybe it was just a dream."

"You know my dreams usually have meanings, Jay. Besides I tried connecting to the falcon through my vision several times with no results, he would not power off for no reason."

"Yeah, yeah, I know," he mumbled. "I'm just hungry and it's so cold out here." He shivered.

Honestly, the cold never really bothered me much but perhaps he did have a point. But I couldn't just abandon the falcon. Not when I knew he was in danger.

"I'm sorry, Jay. But we have to keep going. Just a bit longer," I said.

Jay sighed but kept going.

As we continued onward, there was nothing but the endless fields of white and giant bare trees. I could see no signs that my falcon had even been around here. I could not see signs of anything being around here.

Until I saw something in the distance, lying there in the snow. It was something much larger than the falcon but it had been the only thing I'd seen so I immediately went closer to investigate.

"What is that?" Cole asked.

"I do not know," I said.

The closer I came I suddenly realized it was not something. It was someone.

Concerned but cautious I hurried over. There, motionless, was a young man, couldn't have been much older than us. He had medium-length black hair and was wearing what seemed to be warm clothes. But something told me that they did not intend on being there.

I swallowed, getting worried, I knelt down and tried to wake him up gently. "Hello?"

The others came over.

"Is he okay?" Lloyd asked.

"Doesn't look like it," Kai said.

"I'm not sure of his condition. But he will freeze out here if we do not help him," I stated, trying to read the man's pulse on his wrist.

"Then we should help him," Jay said.

"Wait, hold on here," Cole said. "What if it's a trap? The falcon was in danger and this guy just randomly shows up."

"But what if it isn't a trap?" I asked. "If he is innocent we cannot just let him lie here."

Cole didn't seem to have an answer to that.

"Come on, hurry," I said, urging the others to help me carry him out of the snow.

I wasn't sure if my decision was a good one, but I was built to protect those who couldn't protect themselves, and a man lying unconscious in the snow definitely falls under those guidelines.

I still felt a strong urge to keep looking for my feathered companion, but with such little luck there this was the only thing I could see that was out of place. Maybe there was a reason for this, maybe there wasn't, I needed answers, but finding them might be more of a struggle.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3 - Zane's POV**

It had been a few hours since bringing the young man to a safer and warmer location. We had started a fire in the fireplace and put him in bed, laid some blankets over him (except for his face of course) to keep him warm and were waiting for some sort of movement. He was breathing normally but I getting more concerned.

I was worried that perhaps I was doing something wrong or that something was very wrong _with_ this man. What _was_ he doing out in the forest? Alone? What if it _was_ a trap? But why?

My thoughts were disrupted by the sudden movement of the young man, both me and the friends suddenly became very alert.

The young man winced a little and blinked around. Then his eyes widened, looking alarmed and confused.

I wasn't sure what to say but I stood up from the chair I was sitting on and walked closer. "Hello. I am Zane," I said. "Don't worry. We will not harm you."

The young man looked at me with the same worried and quizzical expression, but now he seemed to have a bit of recognition in his eyes, like he remembered me. Somehow...

My friends had better luck at trying to make conversation.

Jay waved a little and came over. "Hey. I'm Jay. What's your name?" He gave a friendly hand for him to shake.

The young man now looked puzzled, as if looking for what invisible thing Jay was offering in his flat hand.

With a awkward cough, Jay reluctantly retracted his hand, as the man apparently had no idea of what shaking hands was, he repeated his question. "So. Uh. Do you have a name?"

The young man looked down.

I was troubled by this. "Do you remember your name?"

He nodded.

"Then what is it?" Lloyd asked.

The young man continued to blink, he opened his mouth to speak but shut it and shook his head.

"You don't remember it?" Jay asked, confused.

The man looked upset and unsure, he nodded.

Trying to be patient but sort of failing, Kai asked. "So you _do_ remember what it is? Why don't you just tell us?"

The young man looked a bit frustrated but I could sense it wasn't at us.

"...Can you speak?" I asked sensitively.

Finally he was able to give a firm answer on something, he shook his head at my question.

Cole took a notepad and a pen from a desk. "Then maybe you can write your answers down?" He offered the two objects to the man, which the man promptly stared at in confusion.

"You _can_ write though, right?" Cole asked, looking a bit dismayed.

The man shook his head.

Cole sighed and took them. "Well now what?"

Thinking about it, I came to the most logical solution could think of. "It's simple. We just ask yes or no questions."

"Good idea, Zane." Jay said and turned back to the man. "Did someone hurt you in Birchwood forest?"

The man nodded.

"Who-" Jay stopped himself with a small groan of annoyance but tried to think of another question. "Was this someone evil?"

The man nodded more.

"Would we able to catch up with them?" Kai asked.

The man didn't answer for a moment, I believe he was trying to figure out how to say "maybe" or that he wasn't sure without _actually_ saying it. He kind of just shook his head and nodded it at the same time which honestly just made him look like he was having a small fit rather than answering but we thankfully understood what he meant.

"Were you unconscious by the time you would have seen where they went?" Cole inquired.

Another nod to that.

"Were you out just walking around in Birchwood Forest?" Kai asked.

A shake of the head, it looked like he perhaps wanted to gesture with his arms but was confused by how to remove his arms from the blanket prison.

"Then what were you doing?" Kai continued.

I turned to him. "Kai, that's not a yes or no question."

Kai shrugged. "I'm just asking."

As expected, the man had no answer to that.

"Did you know the person that hurt you?" Jay asked.

The man shook his head.

"And it just happened out of nowhere then?" Jay continued.

"Would you be able to recognize them if you saw them again?" Kai asked.

"Were you able to speak and write _before_ all this?" Cole asked.

The man was starting to look a bit overwhelmed by the questions. I noticed this and held up a hand, motioning for them to stop. "That's enough, guys. He just woke up after all." I looked back to the young man. "All I want to to know is, are you hurt?"

The young man looked unsure but shook his head a little.

"Are you in any pain?" I asked.

He shook his head a little, kind of to say 'Not really'.

"Well, alright. But do let me know if you are hurt, we can try to help." I said.

He nodded his head a little.

I smiled. "Perhaps you want to rest. We'll be in the next room. Knock on the wall if you need us. Alright?"

The man blinked for a moment but nodded hesitantly.

"Good. Feel better." I said then left the room, gesturing for the others to follow, which they did.

"Yeah, feel better, man." Jay said.

Once me and my brothers had gone to the next room where we wouldn't be heard, more questions were suddenly brought up.

"What's wrong with him?" Cole asked. "Why can't he talk?"

"He could have lost his voice during whatever happened or he may be mute, Cole." I said reasonably. "It happens after all."

"I know but if he's mute why can't he write?" Cole asked. "That should be his main form of communication shouldn't it?"

"Maybe he knows sign language." Jay speculated. "I could communicate with him if that's the case."

I tilted my head. "I didn't know you knew sign language, Jay."

" Oh yeah, back when I was a kid I had a friend who was deaf. It really encouraged me to learn myself so I could talk to him without writing or texting." Jay said.

"It's worth a shot." Kai said.

"I nodded my head. "I agree. Let's give him some time and then we shall try it."


End file.
